As mentioned in the last Post for Savatage – Dead Winter Dead, the band, under the guidance of producer Paul O’Neill morphed into Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I say morphed because they didn’t change their name, Savatage released other albums later on, and TSO was not only Savatage although they remain the entities key players:
Paul O’Neill – Producer/Composer/Lyricist
Jon Oliva – Composer/Vocals
Al Pitrelli – Composer/Guitar/Musical Director
Johnny Lee Middleton – Bassist
Chris Caffery – Guitars
Jeff Plate – Drums

Trans-Siberian Orchestra took off before their was even a Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Maybe it was denial by the general public but they just did not want to accept that the cool heavy rock sounding Christmas song was played by a band named Savatage. Regardless of names, the public loved the song: Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) and mainstream radio added it into their holiday play lists.

Christmas Eve & Other Stories is the debut release from TSO.
The album was a bestseller soley based on the song Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) and it received very positive reviews for its innovation and approach to Christmas holiday music.
Not only were TSO writing new Christmas songs, they were reimagining old ones for instrumental pieces.

The album begins with a storyline that you have to read (you don’t need to if you don’t want to follow the story the songs are telling and just want to relax and enjoy the music). I don’t want to get into the back story as it is long but you can find all the stories from the Christmas trilogy and the bands other releases here: http://trans-siberian.com/.
Of course Christmas Eve in the title refers to that song but what is important is “& Other Stories” as many of the songs from beginning bring the listener to the importance of the the last story (the story within the story).
Lets start.
An angel is told by God to go down to the Earth on Christmas Eve to find out what good people have done in the name of the day; Christmas.
yes, the angel discovers alot of music and holiday cheer but he also finds sadness and despair but even within those emotions he feels the dreams and hopes of the human spirit.
Along his travels, the angel feels a prayer from a father whose child (daughter) is not home this holiday season. The story never says why she is not home, why she is wandering the streets of New York City; only that the father does not know what has driven a divide between he and his daughter.
Through celestial manipulation, the angel brings the only person nearby the girl to help her. He is also a workaholic who cares about nothing but his business and profits. The girl gets home to her father who rejoices that she is home.
Realize that this is a condensed retelling of the story of The Pordigal Son without all the sinful details but it also speaks of the human condition and if it seems a bit far-fetched; it really isn’t. I know.
The stories end with the angel returning to Heaven and giving what he found to God. Within the last song, after the angel is back, Kyrie plays. A fitting end to an innovative album.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra‘s second release, The Christmas Attic, again tells the story of an angel sent to earth, but this time he is to leave one thing that will benefit mankind.

It’s never that simple with TSO. They relish in stories within stories within…

This one differs in that a young girl is on the brink of losing childhood innocence. Seems that other children at school have instilled doubt in her about whether Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus) is real or not.
She cannot ask her parents as she has been told they are part of the entire Christmas conspiracy. So, like any child, she decides to wait up for Santa to make his appearance in the one room closest to the roof where he lands his sleigh – the attic.

While in the attic, the angel gets her to notice an old storage chest and the magic is released.
It doesn’t really hold magic but it does hold something just as powerful; mementos and memories that with the right amount of childhood innocence and imagination become magical.

As with the first album, this release too has its sad moments. Although there is not as many instrumental pieces as the first release; it is the sadness in some of the stories that makes this album so poignant.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra can be accused of Aesopian storytelling. Every album focuses on moralistic points (even their non-Christmas themed releases). Forgiveness, hope, that it is never too late, innocence over jaded viewpoints, and cherishing life no matter what kind of life you have. This release gives homage to the innocence of children. Not very Metal? They’re doing what they want and that is very Metal.

The Christmas Attic garnered another huge hit for TSO – Christmas Canon. It is Pachelbel‘s Canon in Dmajor redone with a children’s choir for vocals. It is also the third bestselling digital Christmas song. Another version done with guitars, sans children’s choir, appears on a late release. I know a lot of people who, having heard TSO‘s version on The Christmas Attic, have used for their wedding song.

All being said, The Christmas Attic is, like its predecessor, Christmas Eve & Other Stories, a mostly light and airy release. It is a Christmas album.

track listing for The Christmas Attic:
01: The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve
02: Boughs Of Holly (instrumental)03: The World That She Sees
04: The World That He Sees*
05: Midnight, Christmas Eve (instrumental)06: The March Of The Kings/Hark, The Herald Angels Sing (instrumental)07: The Three Kings And I (What Really Happened)
08: Christmas Canon
09: Joy/ Angel’s We Have Heard On High
10: Find Our Way Home
11: Appalachian Snowfall (instrumental)12: The Music Box
13: The Snow Came Down
14: Christmas In The Air
15: Dream Child (A Christmas Dream)
16: An Angel’s Share
17: Music Box Blues

I remember reading a review for The Christmas Attic in which the author wrote that there is nothing new on the release, nothing different from Christmas Eve & Other Stories. I wonder how much of the music the writer actually listened to? Yes, the music is along the lines of Christmas Eve & Other Stories, but songs like The Music Box, Dream Child, An Angel’s Share, Christmas Canon, Music Box Blues, The Three Kings And I… There was no songs like them on the first release.

* released only on later versions of the album.

For all those who pined for a more serious release. A more symphonic release (as if the other two releases were not symphonic enough), this is it.
I will note that it is, at times, melancholy, but very introspective.

As the story continues…

Again the angel is sent to Earth on a quest by God. This trip he has to bring him the name of the person that best continues the work of his son on Earth.
Aside from the daunting task, the angel can only use his power of flight twice. Once to descend and again to return to Heaven.

Okay, this album has its light and airy moments but for the most part it is dealing with heavy issues. Emotions permeate many of the songs, and many can be deemed on the Gothic side.
First off, take the cover. See the guitar in the snow globe? Homage to Criss Oliva, original guitarist for Savatage, brother to Jon Oliva, whose life was ended by a drunk driver? Maybe. It is who I thought of upon first seeing the cover.
And then there is the music.
From the start there is a melancholic feel to it. Like the second album, The Christmas Attic, this release, too, deals with ghosts and spirits, though more depth is used, in turn making the songs longer, a bit more progressive, less Rock sounding and more Metal.
Don’t let the mood stop you from listening to this release. Christmas, and holidays in general, are not only times of happiness. There are many people who suffer through them with memories of once good times but now, because life gives you what it gives you and rarely what you want and plan for, holidays mean remembering what is now lost or gone in their life, or their failures.
But like TSO does, they take you to those memories and let you know that it is never too late in your life to turn things around.

The instumentals on this album are ridiculously excellent. Unlike the first two releases, the instrumental faire here is based on classic music from the Classical and Baroque periods.
The story inside the story is extremely sad and at times can make you angry at how selfish human beings can be. But again, it is a retelling of another story, A Christmas Carol, a story of a stained and tarnished life and the redemption of the spirit. Does it happen? Can a selfish, egotistical, holier-than-thou- SOB change? I don’t know, but TSO makes you believe that with the right amount of magic and timing, because timing is everything, a person can change who and how they are in a night.

This album clocks in at over 66 minutes of music. Some songs are short and can lead the listener to wonder why they even included them at all, but in the end they have their place. They are not intro’s. Nor are they interlude’s. Imagine what New York City may be like at Christmas and you can imagine hearing a brass band or bells chiming a tune in the distance. Ambience.

This is not a live performance DVD. Neither does it tell the stories from either of the first two albums, Christmas Eve & Other Stories and The Christmas Attic. It is a stand alone story written especially for this DVD release that uses songs from both the first two CD releases.

The story is about a young girl who runs away from home, to get out of the cold she breaks into an old theater. As is Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s way, the theater is filled with mementos and memories, ghosts and spirits who, with the help of an elderly caretaker, work to turn the girl’s life around.

The DVD is short and may leave you wondering why they made it other than that they could, but it also shows the timelessness of the songs and that they can inspire in many different scenerios.
Of note, the elderly caretaker is played by the late Ossie Davis, who, for some odd reason, you can imagine him hanging out in an old run down theater…Creepy.
Jewel and Michael Crawford make guest appearances.

I don’t believe that at the time of this release TSO had even toured yet. Yeah, I think they had only played one live show by this time.
Having seen Trans-Siberian Orchestra perform live a few times, I can say that they put on one hell of a show. If you get the chance to see them, please remember this, it is a Christmas holiday event geared toward families. I went with my young son, Blade, and the guy sitting nearby us was inhebriated, stank like a brewery, kept spilling his alcohol, and cursed as if he was at a local dive-bar. What an ass!

A band made up of members from Norway and Germany playing music inspired by Celtic/Gaelic sounds and instruments while still remaining true to their own sound?
For those of you who do not know the band Leaves’ Eyes, the vocalist is ex-Theatre Of Tragedy singer, Liv Kristine Espenæs Krull (get it? Leaves’ Eyes?) and the band itself is made up of members of Atrocity ( Alexander Krull – keyboards and vocals. He is also Liv‘s husband. Roland Navratil – Drums, Thorsten Bauer – bass and guitar. And not in Atrocity, Sander van der Meer – guitar). Leaves’ Eyes loves to tell stories from the past and incorporate olden-style instruments so that the music itself is speaking the story too. That could easily place them in the FolkMetal genre, but, they also use a lot of symphony, death metal growls, choirs… You never know what to expect from song to song and album to album. That not many in the U.S. have heard of them is not their fault. Many tours have been planned and then scrapped at the last minute and the cause is never that of Leaves’ Eyes. Had all the planned tours actually happened, I think word of mouth would have brought this band the popularity they deserve.

I, of course, like to get the version with as many extras on one release as I can. Therefore, I had to wait a bit while the limited edition digipack with a bonus DVD included was ordered and delivered but the wait was worth the product as the DVD is a live recording of Leaves’ Eyes performance at Metal Female Voices Festival 2010 in Oktberhallen Wieze, Belgium.

Meredead is a great album through and through. The way the songs come across, the instrumentation and the choosing between vocal styles by the singers, is nothing short of performing each song for the sake of the song. There are no hits or fillers here. Meredead is an album of songs that are well thought out in theory and composition. I would be amazed if the band does not get recognition for this album the world over.
While I mentioned vocal styles, I am not only speaking of the male voice, which cycles between smooth and death growls, but those too of Liv‘s. Her styles flux between classic style, regular delivery, and almost pop sounding at times.
The voices, along with the music, make the album eclectic but never infringe upon the listening experience as the band pulls off the change with grace and style. Upon first listen I was surprised at what a great album Meredead is because the band talked it up in the press quite a bit and the hype was big which can spell letdown quickly. But no, the band’s talk was not hype.

This is a great year for EuroMetal. With new releases from Within temptation, Midnattsol, Nightwish, Rhapsody Of Fire, HammerFall, Edguy, DragonForce, Opeth, Lacuna Coil, Virgin Black, Delain, Demons And Wizards, Stratovarius, Sirenia, Battlelore, Power Quest, Visions Of Atlantis, Children Of Bodom, Amon Amarth, Symfonia, Cruachan, Omega Lithium, Alestorm, Arch Enemy… way too many more to get to!Leave’s Eyes Meredead is one album you should get. You will not be disappointed.

The Editing – There is absolutely no possibility within the human realm that someone can get from one side of the stage all the way across to the other side of the keyboards in a single moment, the batting of an eye. BUT, it happens on this DVD an awful lot. There is also the angle of the cameras that make the band look as if they are moron’s, albeit talented moron’s. And, coinciding with the photo gallery, one could be easily led to believe that two concerts were actually held.

The Music – Seems a bit on the perfect side… I don’t go to a concert to hear exactly what is on the CD. If that were the case I would save my money and just stay home and listen to the CD. I know bands, even the best of them, make mistakes while playing live and vocalists never sound too damn good. WOW! This is almost too damn perfect. I would rather have all the imperfections of trueness than over-editing.

There is not one song from Oceanborn or Angel’s Fall First. Granted, it is their set and they can do what they want, however, aside from Tarja Turunen, all the other members know it was to be her swan-song performance with the band. There are three songs from Wishmaster, four songs from Century Child, and eight from Once, plus the odd songs High Hopes (Pink Floyd cover), Stone People, Sleeping Sun (not originally on a Nightwish album), and Over The Hills…
Where are Elvenpath, Sacrament Of Wilderness, Beauty And The Beast… Yes, it would have been a long show but it was her last show with them and it would have been a treat to hear what those songs sounded like after originally being recorded years ahead of this concert. Would they be reinterpreted? Slowed down, sped up?
It was Once Upon A Tour but it was also her last show with them and I don’t believe Tarja will ever return since she stated so on her latest release in the song Falling Awake.
So, we are left to hear these songs sung by Annette (who will not sound like Tarja – Kudos for that Annette) and by a band that cannot bring forth the same emotion/feeling that Nightwish does when performing these songs. Both situations can be summed up like this: It is like hearing Vince Neil’s band perform Mötley Crüe, or taking Colonel Sanders out of Kentucky Fried Chicken (you take away the Colonel and you are doing nothing but frying just another piece of chicken). Sorry guys and gals, I did say I was honest.
If you only just now discovered Nightwish and their back catalog, you may feel like you missed one hell of a magical moment in music and metal since you are finding out after the fact. There are many bands now that are similar in direction to Nightwish, but there is only one Nightwish.

As for the DVD itself, the concert, it is what it is. The last show we are able to see a glimmer of the aforementioned magic with a very large crowd of people before we are left wondering what happened less than twenty-four hours later.

In the bonus material, we do get to see the documentary “A Day Before Tomorrow” that does show animosity in spades – everything from sideways glances to barbed remarks to uncomfortable silences broken up by meager attempts at civil conversation.
I think one of the more poignant moments in the documentary is at a festival like show in South America where the band is gathered to take a picture. Before this, Tarja is seen warming up her voice and the band enters her dressing area, she playfully begins to banter back and forth with Jukka who returns her banter with about as much emotion of a dead body on a battlefield.
The next scene is the band prepping to go onstage. Marco is warming up with a few yells, group hug, and then nerve’s. The players head up the stairs for their intro with the camera following them until whoever is manning the camera abruptly stops and pans back down to where Tarja is left alone. The shot does not last long but it speaks more words than the band knows. It is a solitary, fearful display of uncertainness that seems to permeate the entire documentary and all of the band members who hide it behind anger, false-smiles (smile pretty the cameras on) and silence.
Throughout the documentary is Nightwish’s very own Yoko Oh-No; Tarja’s husband MarcelloCabuli. My gawd, when they are all in the same room together the silence is deafening. It should be noted that whenever he is alone with the band members Marcello does make attempts to defuse the situation, some so damn goofy even they cannot help but laugh, but when Tarja returns the silence and downcast eyes begin anew.

The documentary also has pop-ups with questions answered by band members. What stands out is that Tarja has the most rock-star answers for the questions though she seems the least rock-star type.
Another thing is the lack of Tarja’s presence when you feel she should be there standing besides the other band members but she mysteriously is there later in the shot. Is she there? Is she not there? What?
The documentary does not reveal what really tore the band apart, just the slow build-up to an imploding end that no one within the band did a damn thing to stop.

The bonus material is small but the impact of it is huge. The concert is good aside from the editing that insults the watcher’s intelligence. I would rather see the entire performance without the cuts, mistakes be damned!

Filmed at Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam with accompaniment by The Metropole Orchestra, and the Pa’dam Choir, Black Symphony, in my opinion, is the most ambitious coupling of a metal band and orchestra that has been done.

Metallica and Scorpions both did it years ago but aside from music, there was nothing else. No stage show, no break in the middle for acoustic sets, no guest performances, no video screen as long as the stage is, no pyrotechnics… aside from stage lighting there was nothing but music and two bands that seemed as if they were nervous and had no clue as to what they should do. And, neither of these bands had live symphonies playing on their studio releases either so it was all new to them.

The show, “Black Symphony’ starts out with an orchestral piece, the choir joining in as they make their entrance onto the upper stage. Backstage, the band waits for their queue looking more anxious to get out on stage and begin the show than they do nervous to be performing in such a setting.

As Slayer’s Reign In Blood is considered the epitome of Thrash Metal and Dream Theater’s Images & Words is considered the epitome of Progressive Metal, I have to consider this show and the ensuing CD and DVD the epitome of Symphonic Metal (except the American CD release. Only thirteen songs of the 21 performed? Roadrunner Records, you blew it.) Plus, this show was directly responsible for the live acoustic performance An Acoustic Night At The Theater.
Having just listened to a pre-screening of Within Temptation’s next release The Unforgiving I can say that the sound they had at this show and previous releases does not make an appearance.
I guess, with the spectacle that is Black Symphony, the band has to go in a different direction because the show was an apex of their career. Watch it and ask yourself how they would top this. It really is a brilliant show and why try to top it?
Then again, as far as I am concerned, Sharon, Robert, and the band itself can do whatever the hell they want in music. Look how far they have come with this DVD and its later show/release, An Acoustic Night At The Theater. I for one don’t want to hear a part 2 to any of their albums and the two aforementioned shows are a pinnacle if not classic releases.

The concert contains many of WT’s well-known songs with Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-vocalist of The Gathering and vocalist of Ague de Annique), Keith Caputo (Life Of Agony), and George Oosthoek (ex-vocalist of Orphanage) joining the band onstage to sing.
There is pyro and explosions – the intro to Hand Of Sorrow is off the chain with these, stilt angels during the song Angel, and the crowd itself is loud and very responsive. The décor for the stage screen is a work of art. Bottom line – if you are going to do a show like this, this is the way to do it.

As mentioned In a previous article by me, Sharon den Adel sings twenty-one songs at this show and though each song is not just like the studio album, she goes the distance when many vocalists would say it was too much for them to do. When joined onstage by the other vocalists, the band is humble but with Sharon’s stage presence (and she has huge presence), they cannot outshine her although she is letting them shine. The same can be said for the band. The orchestra is onstage with them but it is Within Temptations stage.

There are also many extras on the DVD including, interviews with the orchestra conductor, the band, and some fans, a short documentary, and what went on the day of the show (pre-production).
On the European version there is another DVD included that has another live show, Music videos from The Heart Of Everything, behind the scenes of the music videos, and video that the band recorded while on tour. Plus, there is video of WT performing at various award shows and in the studio while the orchestra is recording THoE. If you have a DVD player that is PAL capable, get the European version of this DVD.

End Of Innocence, released in 2002, is not the typical band DVD. There are videos, concert performances, photograph galleries in the “Extra” option and there is an “Extra of the Extra’s” option. The main choice is a documentary, or interview, with Tuomas Holopainen, Jukka Nevalainen, Tapio Wilska (yes, he is not in the band but he has done guest vocals and is a friend and apparent drinking buddy as you see on this DVD).
The DVD has many humorous moments: the boat motor that won’t start, Tuomas musing over the lyric “The scent of a woman was not mine…” as being not something a man would write, Jukka still wondering about the oak leave pictures and still not getting the reason for them, Tapio thinking something was wrong with Tuomas on the release of Century Child because the lyrics seemed so sad…

The island they are on, owned by Tuomas’s family, is also the same place Nightwish came into being; the place immortalized in Sacrament Of Wilderness from Oceanborn. There is a small dwelling on the island where much of the interview takes place, the sky is overcast and from the chosen attire worn by the people the weather is growing cooler. Along with the booze and the intimate setting, the pace of the documentary is slow and mellow, and relaxed: just three friends taking a day out to reflect and muse.

There are outtakes from backstage, in the studio while making Century Child, on the tour bus, at hotel’s; the band and crew playing pranks on each other and other bands, Tuomas in the state of F.U.B.A.R. and being led to his hotel room where he is lain on his bed. The crew, having noticed something peculiar with Marco Hietala, put a camera on an amplifier and recorded just a single concert and what he was doing (I’m not going to say but the look on his face when he notices the camera is priceless), and what a concert sounds like behind the drums while playing.
The interview is informative, introspective, and a bit nostalgic to the point of sadness as the discussion goes back and forth from the earlier times of the band to the recorded present. It is this intimacy that makes End Of Innocence compelling, so much so that the extra content seems piddling by comparison.

This DVD is still in circulation in the United States and can be purchased, counting whatever retailer you patronize has a distributor that carries releases not widely known (my CD store here in Missoula, Montana does, yeah me! Got me Kiske/Somerville, but the owner carries a wide selection of metal music from Europe).

Live performance at Summer Breeze Festival 2002
01: End Of All Hope
02: Dead To The World
03: 10th Man Down
04: Slaying The Dreamer
05: Over The Hills And Far Away
06: Sleeping Sun

Supposedly, there is a hidden outtake of Tarja singing an Acapella version of Sleepwalker. I have never been able to unlock this.

End Of Innocence is worth the money you will spend on it. If you attempt to download it you will not get anything but the documentary if pirating. If you like Nightwish buy the damn thing and support the band (that goes for any band you like. If they don’t make money how can they continue making music?)